Tell Indiana to Stop Cutting Aid to Developmentally Disabled Adults

For at least 10 years, Indiana has been cutting back aid payments to developmentally disabled adults just because those people also get food stamps. Problem is, that's against the law.

Federal laws say that food stamps cannot be counted as income and therefore cannot decrease a person's benefits. But Indiana has been reducing grocery allowances as food stamp benefits increase, so that no one receives more than $200 in food assistance each month. The $200, by the way, is an arbitrary cap that hasn't been adjusted in years. Really, Indiana? You think that disabled adults who need assistance to live on their own should be restricted to just over $7 per day for food?

Already the USDA and Medicaid officials are investigating, but so far, the state is standing by the thievery. "Receiving a benefit reduces their need," said Marcus Barlow, a spokesman for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. "If your need has been reduced, then you should reduce the supplemental program. .... We stand behind our practice." Ballsy. And entirely incorrect.

According to a damning recent AP article, your state and your organization have been cutting back aid payments to developmentally disabled adults just because those people also get food stamps. It's against the law, and Indiana's been doing it for 10 years or more.

Federal laws say that food stamps cannot be counted as income and therefore cannot decrease a person's benefits. But Indiana has been reducing grocery allowances as food stamp benefits increase, so that no one receives more than $200 in food assistance each month. The $200, by the way, is an arbitrary cap that hasn't been adjusted in years. Do you really think that disabled adults who need assistance to live on their own should be restricted to just over $7 per day for food?

Please reconsider the practice and make this right before the pending ACLU lawsuit and federal USDA investigation do it for you.